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Batgirl
, "Batgirl Returns" Bat-Brat, Mystery, , "Miss Un-Congeniality" Bratgirl"Girl's Night Out" | species = Human | hair = Red (white in later life) | eyes = Blue | relatives = James Gordon (father) Sam Young (husband) | abilities = Gymnast Skilled Martial Artist | base = Gotham City | affiliation = Batman, Gotham Police Department | voiced by = Melissa Gilbert Mary Kay BergmanBatman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Tara Strong Stockard ChanningOn , first season Angie HarmonOn , second and third season }} Barbara Gordon was the daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. She took on the mantle of Batgirl, and became Batman's partner and protegé for many years. Later in life, she followed in her father's footsteps by becoming Commissioner of the Gotham Police Department herself. History Pre-Costume When the renegade artificial intelligence HARDAC attempted to replace the most influential members of Gotham (including Commissioner James Gordon, Hamilton Hill, and Harvey Bullock), Barbara was one of the few who initially felt something was wrong. Knowing that the robot wasn't her father, Barbara activated the Bat-signal and called in Batman. When Batman arrived she shared her suspicions with him and he told her he'd look into it. However, Bullock showed up and attacked Batman. Bullock now had superman strength and Batman found himself outmatched. However, he manages to throw Barbara a grapple and she uses it to catch one of Bullock's legs allowing Batman to push him into the Bat-signal. Barbara is horrified to think she killed Bullock but a robot skeleton crawls out of the cooked skin and attacks her but Batman cuts its head off with a shrunken. Barbara realized that her father has been replaced with a robot and Batman promises her to look into it. He tells her to stay with a friend but she's got other ideas. Later, Bruce went to the Gotham Club to meet up with Mayor Hill who told him he'd be part of "a very exclusive club". There Bruce finds several elite members of Gotham, all of whom have glowing red eyes. Randa arrived with a taser but Bruce wasn't ready to give up and escaped his captors. The robots give chase and he dashes into an elevator where he changes into Batman. Four of the robots, however, manage to break into the elevator, only to find that Batman isn't inside and is cutting the cable. Unable to stop him in time, the robots fall and are destroyed. Having deduced, where her father should be, Barbara gathered up some equipment and went to Cybertron where she used a fingerprint trick to learn the entry code, and sneaked past a security camera. However, she hadn't counted on the wastebaskets being rigged with robot eyes and one follows her. Just before she could reach the Research and Development lab, the wastebasket transformed into a humanoid robot and captures her. Rossum and Randa greeted Barbara and assured her that she'd be joining her father. Outside, Batman arrived and sneaked into the lab. H.A.R.D.A.C. however, was expecting him and set some security robots on him. Batman easily disabled them but found that H.A.R.D.A.C.'s robots had Barbara. H.A.R.D.A.C. explains that he intends to replace humans, who make errors, with robots who he sees as being perfect. He goes on to say that the idea was really Rossum's, made when his daughter died in a car accident. Rossum wanted to replace people who hurt others but H.A.R.D.A.C. wanted to replace all humans. Barbara questioned if her father is dead, but H.A.R.D.A.C. showed her that he was not. At this, Batman and Barbara implemented an escape plan and a robot was thrown into the tank holding the humans, releasing them. Batman then went on to destroy the robots and damages H.A.R.D.A.C. with some explosives. Unfortunately, Randa caught him before he could escape. The prisoners and Barbara attempted to escape but H.A.R.D.A.C. insisted he had locked every way out. Fortunately, Rossum had a personal elevator not controlled by H.A.R.D.A.C.. The group escaped and Barbara went back to help Batman. Meanwhile, Batman fought with Randa and eventually managed to crush her underneath an elevator. Barbara then ran in and helped Batman out. H.A.R.D.A.C., in a last ditch effort, self-destructed, but Barbara and Batman make it out in time just before he exploded. Outside, Rossum sadly said he didn't know of H.A.R.D.A.C.'s actions and Mayor Hill assured him that the investigation will probably show he's telling the truth. Now free of H.A.R.D.A.C., the group headed home. While leaving, Gordon groaned that he was getting too old for this sort of thing while Barbara claimed she enjoyed herself. , "Heart of Steel" Batgirl Barbara Gordon takes after her father, James Gordon. Like the Commissioner, Barbara is a skilled crime fighter dedicated to wiping out Gotham City's lawbreakers; but not necessarily as a police officer. When Commissioner Gordon was framed by the notorious villain Two-Face, Barbara donned a Bat-costume and discovered that the uniform fit her better than she ever imagined. The cowl was ripped from the back by Robin when he tried to stop her from running away from him. Whether they liked it or not, Batman and Robin soon realized that they have a new redheaded ally in the form of Batgirl. She gave suttle hints towards her identity at the time, but, they would fail to reach the ears of the two.Idem, "Shadow of the Bat" Barbara was not as active as Dick and Bruce were as Robin and Batman. Despite this, she experienced her first run in with Catwoman. The two briefly fought but Catwoman claimed she was innocent and proved that the crime isn't her style. In spite of this, Catwoman refused to go with Batgirl to the police. Batgirl insisted and a fight was about to ensue before Robin arrived causing Catwoman to flee. Robin and Batgirl gave chase but Catwoman managed to escape. Batgirl then explained that Catwoman was innocent and scolded Robin for rushing in. Robin angrily left telling Batgirl to stay out of the way. The next day, Barbara finds a message for "The Winged Mouse" and learns of where Catwoman will be later that night. Batgirl arrived at the Bayshore pier and found Catwoman waiting for her. Catwoman offered a truce and proposed a partnership. Batgirl agrees on the condition that Catwoman gives herself up if she's lying. Batgirl and Catwoman went to the Stacked Deck to find information. They interrogated "the chemist" to find out who melted the padlock into the university but he runs before revealing where it was made. A fight ensues in the bar forcing the two to flee. They steal a motorcycle and are chased by the police. The duo managed to escape and judged by the Chemist's reaction Catwoman deduced who was behind the Jade Cat robbery. Catwoman took Batgirl to Roland Daggett's laboratory, the same one used to make the Renuyu cream that turned Matt Hagen into Clayface and the virus that infected Isis. Looking around they find the cat but it's a trap. Dagget and his goons captured Catwoman and Batgirl and took them to vats of hot chemicals. Daggett explains that he stole the cat because it was what Catwoman would have stolen and he needs the money to start over as he was left broke after his last encounter with Batman. Daggett continues by saying he'll have Batgirl and Catwoman shot and then thrown into the acid vats to destroy the evidence. Fortunately, Robin arrives and deals with the thugs before they can execute Daggett's plan. The trio beats Daggett's thugs and Catwoman goes after Daggett. Looking for revenge over the virus incident Catwoman prepares to drop Daggett into the acid but Batgirl catches the chain and saves him. However, Catwoman makes a break for it and Batgirl is not strong enough to pull Daggett up. Robin arrives and takes over for Batgirl allowing her to go after Catwoman. Using a bola she manages to catch Catwoman who confesses she always intended to steal the Jade Cat. Catwoman then offered to team up but Batgirl refuses. The police arrive and take Catwoman into custody who claims Batgirl is innocent. Unfortunately, Catwoman escaped the police and takes their car. Dick wanted to go after Catwoman but Batgirl assures him there will be another time.Idem, "Batgirl Returns" When Dick Grayson returned as Nightwing, she began to date him, often being interrupted for missions. In her daily life, Barbara is a student at Gotham State University. , "Batgirl Returns" Her academic skills are matched only by her gymnastic ability, which she utilizes to her full advantage as Batgirl. Batman and Robin learn to trust and rely on Batgirl's contribution to eradicating Gotham's criminal element. Barbara and Dick Grayson also dated, though they were unaware of each other's costumed identity at the time. Early on, Batman deduced the masked redhead who fought so hard to clear Commissioner Gordon could only be Gordon's daughter, Barbara. Barbara was also found to be the only organ donor (either living or dead) to Nora Fries, Mr. Freeze's wife, and she was kidnapped. However, Dick Grayson was present during the kidnapping, and though he failed to save Barbara, he was aware of Freeze's plot. Batman and Robin managed to interrupt the operation before it took place, and the battle that ensued caused Freeze's lair to explode. Batman, Robin, and Barbara were able to evacuate Nora and Koonak in time, but Freeze had fallen into the fiery blast and was assumed dead. In actuality, he and his polar bears survived. Nora was subsequently cured in Gotham. In Mayfields Department Store, Barbara was just purchasing a new tie for her father when all of a sudden an ear-piercing wail cuts through the air. The shop attendant comments on how they've been crying all day, at which point we see why: Harvey Bullock is playing Santa. With his partner, Montoya, he's on a stakeout. Bullock, showing rare sensitivity, comforts a young girl who's father he put in prison, and winds up giving her cash to soothe her Christmastime woes. Clayface gets a shocking surprise. Barbara, walking through the store, happens to spot a child shoplifting, but when she tries to apprehend him, his clothes and hand seem to dissolve into nothing. Then, Montoya gets a call through her earpiece that detectives are in pursuit of four child bandits in the store. Just when the children seem to be trapped, they meld! Moments later the truth is revealed: Clayface! He begins tearing up the place and no one can stop him, that is, until Barbara gets changed into her Batgirl outfit and delivers a blow to the head the sends him crashing out the window and into the skating rink below. Montoya and Bullock arrive on the scene and with a little guidance from Barbara, succeed in halting the giant shapeshifter by way of electrocution. , "Holiday Knights" When Dick Grayson left Gotham, Batman found himself calling on Batgirl to work with him on special cases. Eventually, Batman told Batgirl the secret of his dual identity and granted her free access to the Batcave and all its technology. The Batcomputer quickly became her domain and now she even surpasses Batman, Robin and Nightwing in cyber-expertise. When her then-boyfriend, Dick Grayson, learned of her identity as Batgirl, he helped Batman and Batgirl fight the Joker and then, got into an argument with Batman over bringing her into the team, she cited that she chose to become Batgirl, only for Dick to tell her that Batman likes to pull strings and manipulate people, Batman thought that they all wanted the same thing, but, Dick told him times change and people change, including himself, Batman tried to stop him from leaving, before Dick turned around and punched him in the face, Barbara looked on in shock, Dick took of pieces of his costume, including his mask and his cape, threw them at Batman and left Gotham to became Nightwing. , "Old Wounds" Barbara lived in a private townhouse near Gotham's trendy Park Ridge. A service lift in Barbara's bedroom closet ran down to the secret basement where Barbara stores her Batgirl crime fighting gear. In addition to costumes and weapons, the basement also serves as garage for Batgirl's highly advanced Batcycle, a gift from Batman. Her double life as Batgirl sometimes put Barbara at an emotional crossroads. As the daughter of the Police Commissioner, Barbara was raised with respect for law and order, but her actions as Batgirl technically label her a vigilante. If Batgirl were ever caught and unmasked, the scandal would certainly destroy Commissioner Gordon's career. Still, Gotham is a city that breeds an extreme kind of criminal and extreme crime fighters are needed to handle situations that overwhelm regular police. Barbara believes the good she does as Batgirl is worth the potential risk to herself and her father. Batgirl often takes on some of Batman's dangerous villains solo, including Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. Batgirl became great friends with Supergirl, and has teamed up with her in the past, most notably when Livewire escaped and joined forces with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Batgirl and Supergirl were not looked upon favorably with the Penguin, who requested Batman and Superman. Batgirl first fought Livewire alone before she was aided by Supergirl. The two teamed up on her before she escaped. They managed to defeat her, only, for Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn arrived to help her. The three got away due to Supergirl having to save Batgirl from dying in a pay phone that had toxic gas in it. The two went back to Wayne enterprises and planned out how to win. Batgirl and Supergirl fought the three again. Poison Ivy was defeated when fire got on a plant elephant she had made. She subsequently took out Livewire, who's powers were electricity, on accident when she was pouring water on the elephant. Harley Quinn was the easiest, however, taking herself out when she tried to hit Supergirl in the back of the head. The two finally managed to beat them and the three were sent to jail. , "Girl's Night Out" She once was hit with fear toxin by Scarecrow that made her believe, Batman and Robin were being chased down by her father because he believed Batman to be her murderer after seeing her fall from a roof. Batman and Robin were then chased down to the bat cave, the two were almost caught by police, but, saved by Alfred Pennyworth, who was arrested. The two got into a submarine and were chased by police officers and several other law enforcement, before being aided by Nightwing in escaping. Nightwing went back to his apartment to get food for them, but, was outnumbered by police officers and arrested. Nightwing and Alfred were put in jail and Tim had an idea on breaking them out, to which, Batman declined. Commissioner Gordon made a deal with Bane to kill Batman. The dream ended when Batman and Commissioner Gordon, who had chosen to confront Batman face-to-face over his daughter's death, fell off of a building because of Bane's double-cross. She woke up screaming and was relieved to see Bruce still alive, hugging him upon this confirmation. Bruce asked her what she had seen and Barbara told him of her dream. This event almost made Barbara tell her father of her secret identity, but, he stopped her from doing so. , "Over the Edge" As her career in Gotham went on, Batgirl had an ongoing rivalry with the villainesses Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. She went on to play a central role in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of all of the men in Gotham City, an event that briefly brought her into conflict with the Gotham City police force, who had been taken over by a robotic duplicate of her father, and forced her to ally with her enemies. Eventually, she tracked down the true culprit, Dora Smithy, and defeated her in a final struggle at an abandoned ice cream factory, rescuing her father and ending the mayhem. Batgirl was also with Batman when Tim Drake was kidnapped by the Joker and tortured into becoming a "son" of the Clown Prince. While Batman took on the madman, Barbara confronted Harley Quinn. In the fight, they fell off a cliff, and though Batgirl tried to get Harley back to safety, she fell into Arkham Canyon. She later comforted Tim when he cried after all of his torture he had endured. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Post-Costume Barbara was the last of Batman's partners to relinquish their roles. She was also the girlfriend of Bruce Wayne for an undetermined period after the Joker had tortured Tim and found out his secret identity. She would eventually become police commissioner as her father had been. The details of her rise to the position of police commissioner are unknown. Over the years, she lost touch with Bruce Wayne. According to Barbara herself, the fact that Bruce Wayne's drive wouldn't allow him to "settle down" from his life of crime fighting eventually drove a wedge between them; Their intimate relationship was terminated after a time. She eventually went on to marry District Attorney Sam Young. Whether or not she told her husband about her time as Batgirl is unknown. , "A Touch of Curaré" She came into contact again with Bruce when she found out he had a new partner and got a call from Bruce. She then, looked out the window to see the "get acquainted gift" Batman left her. It's the pieces of Inque, trapped in the ice. , "Black Out" Initially, Barbara was distrustful of the second Batman, Terry McGinnis; this distrust was stressed when Spellbinder used his technology to make her believe that Terry had killed Mad Stan. , "Eyewitness" She also expressed a measure of resentment towards Bruce for not talking Terry out of becoming the latest Batman. At first, she strictly refused Batman's help and warned him to stay out of police matters. She mostly had anger towards him due to her old grudge towards Bruce and his decision to stop her from helping him and to continue doing it at his age. When the assassin Curaré targeted Barbara’s husband District Attorney Sam Young, a joint effort from herself and Terry stopped the planned hit. During this incident, Barbara saved Terry's life by throwing a discarded batarang at the killer; amazed she still "had it". Barbara then welcomed Batman back to fighting crime in her city. Barbara eventually formed a mentoring relationship with Terry, even helping him on occasion, especially when the Joker returned and had attacked Bruce in the cave. As she was one of the few trustworthy people who knew Bruce's secret, she was the person Terry contacted after Bruce was hurt in the Batcave and she likely helped him treat Bruce. As Bruce recovered, Barbara briefly took over Bruce's role, sitting behind the mainframe in the Batcave providing guidance to Terry in the field. Barbara went to Sam's house to tell him to relax, but was insisted upon by him that he needed to put Dr. Cuvier out of commision. They were attacked by three spliced thugs, Barbara managed to fight off Tigress, but, she was soon captured. Fortunately, Batman arrives and attacks the thugs. Barbara calls up Bruce and tries to warn him of Terry's condition but it's too late. Terry arrives now greatly resembling the Man-Bat. Ace desperately attacks him and is hurled away. Terry then attacks Bruce who only manages to escape thanks to Ace's intervention. After escaping, Bruce hits him with a dart filled with the cure for splicing. , "Splicers" The police once went to Miss Martel's apartment and found her tied up. Finding evidence that pointed to the school, Barbara confronted Bennet. He explained that the robot was an assassin droid called "Zeta" and it had stopped taking their orders. Because Zeta was at the time on an assignment to infiltrate a terrorist group, they assumed it was now taking orders from them and must destroy it, whatever the civilian cost. After Bennet leaves, Batman talked to Barbara and she explained that it was most likely that Zeta was still at the High School. , "Zeta" Barbara came into the line of fire again when Dr. Cuvier attempted to have her husband killed, leading to a melee in her home with Cuvier's minions and a mutated, out-of-control Batman. After Terry was returned to normal and Cuvier was defeated, Barbara personally encouraged Terry (who had recently avenged his father's death) to give up his life as Batman. However, Terry was undeterred, and answered that the small rewards were sometimes the best. Knowing that the shooting would not go unnoticed, Major had his goons pack up his valuables and run. Major is unconcerned that he's leaving without Big Time since he figures Big Time will be easy to find. Major and his gang try to drive off, but run into a police barrier. They realize that someone tipped off the police, but Major is sure that it's not Big Time. Determined not to be taken in, Major and his thugs start a shoot out and Major tries to escape but Barbara stopped him. Later, Terry and Barbara went to Charlie's hiding place and find that he's gone. Personality During her time as Batman's sidekick, Barbara had excellent detective skills, often solving cases independently without Batman, Robin or Nightwing. She had a bit of a caring side, such as when she cuddled Tim after he was tortured by the Joker. She was shown to be caring of her father, constantly putting her life on the line to save his. Barbara even showed an act of kindness to Harley Quinn, longtime enemy of Batman, when the two were dangling from a cliff and she tried to save her. When she became commissioner of Gotham after her father, she could be hard and stern. Barbara had a tendency to keep grudges, such as when she kept a decade long grudge against Bruce for how he treated the people he claimed to care about. Barbara could also be forgiving, such as when she reunited with Bruce and Tim after the latter's transformation into a new version of the Joker. She seemed to have a hard time accepting new people for what they were, such as Terry when he first became Batman. Background information In the comics, Barbara Gordon is one of six women to have held the title of Batgirl. In the DCAU, the title is hers alone. The original Bat-Girl was Bette Kane, the niece of Batwoman, who served as her aunt's "Robin". Barbara Gordon was the second, the niece/daughter/adopted daughter of Commissioner Gordon, after she was popularized by the 1960s Adam West TV series. In Batman: The Killing Joke, she was forced to retire from the Batgirl mantle after the Joker shot her in her spine and left her paraplegic. She operated as Oracle with the Birds of Prey for twenty-one years, until the 2011 reboot established her as Batgirl again with her legs full restored with her own comic book series for the first time and taking on a whole new array of villians previously unseen in comics before. Later Batgirls are Cassandra Cain, Helena Bertinelli (clandestine, during the No Man's Land arc), Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe (the later Misfit, also clandestinely) and the most recent Batgirl is Stephanie Brown, formerly the Spoiler and Robin IV. Trivia * In an episode of an older Barbara Gordon looks over her old costume in the Batcave and remarks about the bullet holes being gone. In the episode "Bat'ing Cleanup", Barbara is seen studying a bullet hole in her costume. * At one point during the later series , an episode featuring Batgirl was discussed. The episode would have featured Barbara being ordered by Batman to stay off a case involving Kirk Langstrom and an army of Man-Bats, in which she had recently gotten herself injured and put in traction. Defying Batman's orders she would have temporarily assumed an Oracle-like persona and recruited Huntress and Black Canary as her field agents (after finding Nightwing to be unavailable) who then help her to stop Langstrom's Man-Bats.Bruce Timm post on ToonZone The episode was never produced as the rights to the Batgirl character were not held over and were being used by the team on The Batman at the time, a show separate from the DC animated universe and lasted five seasons over the span of five years, Green Arrow and The Question were put in the episode's script, both substituting for her. Appearances and references * "Heart of Steel" * "I Am the Night" * "Shadow of the Bat" * "Harlequinade" * "Batgirl Returns" Feature film * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * "Holiday Knights" * "Sins of the Father" * "Cold Comfort" * "You Scratch My Back" * "Double Talk" * "Joker's Millions" * "Growing Pains" * "Mean Seasons" * "Over the Edge" * "Torch Song" * "Love is a Croc" * "The Ultimate Thrill" * "Critters" * "Old Wounds" * "Girl's Night Out" * "Chemistry" Feature film * "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" * "My Girl" * "Unity" * "Knight Time" * "Lap Bat" * "Trick or Trick?" * "More Than One Way" * "The Three Babes" * "Lady-X" * "Miss Un-Congeniality" * "Strategery" * "Bat'ing Cleanup" * "Gotham Noir" * "Scout's Dis-Honor" * "I'm Badgirl" * "Ms.-ing in Action" * "Gotham in Pink" * "Hear Me Roar" * "Gotham in Blue" * "A Cat in the Hand" * "Jailhouse Wreck" * "Honor Among Thieves" * "No, I'm Batgirl!" * "Signal Fires" * "Cold Hands, Cold Heart" * "The Savage Time" * "Comfort and Joy" * "Epilogue" * "Rebirth, Part II" * "Black Out" * "Heroes" * "Spellbound" * "A Touch of Curaré" * "Splicers" * "Babel" * "Eyewitness" * "Zeta" * "King's Ransom" * "Out of the Past" * "Speak No Evil" * "Betrayal" * "Unmasked" Feature film * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker }} Footnotes External links * Batgirl at Wikipedia * * Batgirl (BTAS Bio) at the World's Finest ** Batgirl (GG Bio) Category:A to Z Gordon, Barbara Category:Individuals proficient in martial arts Gordon, Barbara Category:Superheroes